Today, Agility learned that the State of Emergency the Governor of Texas issued on October 14, 2024, has expanded to include the following Texas counties:
- Anderson, Angelina, Aransas, Atascosa, Austin,
- Bastrop, Bee, Bell, Brazos, Brewster, Brooks, Burleson,
- Caldwell, Calhoun, Cameron, Camp, Cherokee, Colorado, Comal, Culberson,
- Delta, DeWitt, Dimmit, Duval,
- El Paso, Ellis,
- Falls, Fayette, Fort Bend, Franklin, Freestone,
- Goliad, Gonzales, Gregg, Grimes, Guadalupe,
- Harris, Hays, Henderson, Hidalgo, Hopkins, Houston, Hudspeth, Hunt,
- Jackson, Jeff Davis, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells,
- Karnes, Kaufman, Kenedy, Kleberg,
- La Salle, Lamar, Lavaca, Lee, Leon, Limestone, Live Oak, Loving,
- Madison, Matagorda, McMullen, Milam, Montgomery, Morris,
- Nacogdoches, Navarro, Nueces,
- Polk, Presidio,
- Rains, Red River, Reeves, Refugio, Robertson, Rockwall, Rusk,
- San Jacinto, San Patricio, Smith, Starr,
- Titus, Travis, Trinity,
- Upshur,
- Van Zandt, Victoria,
- Walker, Waller, Washington, Webb, Wharton, Willacy, Williamson, Wilson, Wood,
- and Zapata Counties.
The current Medicare Advantage Special Election Period (SEP) for this disaster is being updated to make these new Texas counties eligible, with a new expiration date of June 30, 2025. It remains the Medicare agents’ responsibility to confirm that a beneficiary is eligible to use this SEP before the beneficiary uses it.
Medicare agents should do the following to confirm beneficiary eligibility:
- Ask the beneficiary to provide proof that they lived in an affected county at the start of the SEP eligibility period, or to rely on assistance with healthcare decisions from friends or family members who lived in an affected county.
- If they do not have proof, ask them to attest verbally.
- Confirm they had another valid election period available during the incident period and did not make an election during the other valid election period due to the stated disaster or other emergency.
- Once eligibility is confirmed, proceed with the application.
- On applications, use the election code SEP DST.
For more information on other Medicare Advantage SEPs nationwide, see our article on this topic, co-written with our partners at Humana.
Agility’s Medicare expert, Scott Meeks, is highly knowledgeable about Medicare SEPs and can address any specific questions you have about them or other Medicare-related topics. To speak with Scott, contact Producer Support at (866) 590-9771 or support@enrollinsurance.com to schedule a call or meeting, get answers to any insurance questions, and be added to our weekly email tips and updates list.
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